Guiding Light
by pondlilyrue
Summary: Sam was her guiding light; her beacon in the darkness. Sam/Marley friendship


**a/n: **inspired by when ryan murphy said that sam was marley's "guiding light." i'm pretty sure i awww-ed for ten hours straight after that. anyways, i wrote this seeing as there are _not _enough sam/marley fics in the world. perhaps someone could write one.. *bats eyelashes* anyways, who do you think is the boy that notices marley? *wink wink*

* * *

**Guiding Light**

_Lights will guide you home_

_And ignite your bones_

_And I will try to fix you_

__- Coldplay, "Fix You"

* * *

She watched the way her mom's fingers worked as she sew the label into the sweater. _J-crew_ it read. Marley's eyes didn't leave that small tiny white label that was full of lies and secrets. She couldn't help but appreciate her mother's attempts at getting her to fit into a new school; she sacrificed so much for her. "Thank you," Marley whispered yet again. Her mother finally looked up from her work and gave her only daughter a soft smile.

"You're welcome, Mar. You deserve this," she responded. Deserved a chance to fit in. Deserved the opportunity to wear a Walmart sweater with a J-crew label on it. Marley reached up and hugged her mother from behind, resting her cheek on the top of her mother's head as she murmured _I love you, I love you, I love you._

They remained like that, mother and daughter for a few small seconds before Marley's phone buzzed. Her mother perked up at this since she loved to think her daughter had friends. "I'll go get it," Marley whispered and took the phone out of her pocket. _Hey, _from Jake Puckerman.

Marley bit her lip, trying to hide her smile. "Jake texted me!" she shrieked. _Hey :) _she responded, trying to control the butterflies swarming in her stomach. Foolishly, she entertained the thought of him possibly liking her. Her insecurities told her not to, though. Why would anyone love her? She was stupid, quiet, poor and fat. _Fat, fat, fat, fat._

"Really?" Her mother raised an eyebrow. Marley grinned unashamedly. She nodded her head yes. "What did he say?"

Marley put her iced tea on the coffee table beside her, staring at her cheap phone with big blue eyes. "He said 'hey.'" Thinking about it, she seemed a little bit discouraged. _Hey, _just _hey_.

"Obviously he wants to talk to you," Marley's mother suggested. Marley chewed on her bottom lip but nodded. Jake seemed to like to talk to a lot of girls though. Just today, he was chatting up Tina, then Sugar, then Kitty, then Brittany. Nothing made him speaking to her special.

"I guess," Marley murmured.

**-x-**

"What's up with you?" Marley heard a voice echo, and she looked up and met the muddy green eyes of Sam Evans. He was a nice guy – he heard about her poverty and shared his story with her – so she decided not to burden him with her problems and faked a smile. Sam narrowed his eyes at the overly cheerful grin he received from the girl with the upset guys. "What's wrong, Marley?" He sat down next to her on the school bleachers overlooking the football field.

"Nothing, really," she murmured back, shrugging a little. She wasn't in the mood for a deep conversation and desired to be left alone, basking in her thoughts.

"Marley, I know you, and I know that something's wrong," Sam said softly, moving closer to the beautiful girl with the caramel hair. She sighed a bit and pointed to two figures in the distance.

One being a tall and masculine boy with tan skin and a buzz cut, with a baby face and winning grin. The other being a short and savvy blonde with a tight ponytail and a flirty grin always adorning that bitchy face of hers. She heard Sam's sigh. "Marley, you're going to have to get over it."

Frowning a little, Marley turned to face the boy. He was looking at her seriously; something she doesn't see often with him. Usually, Sam is a happy-go-lucky, laid-back, impression-making Senior, not one for deep conversations and insightful opinions. Knitting her brows together, she asked, "What?"

Sam placed his hand over hers. She noticed how warm and soft his was, radiating compassion. "He's not worth it. I know his brother; he's a good friend of mine. But, Jake is a jerk. He is a womanizer, and you _know _what he would do to you if you dated."

Sam's advice rung in her ears. Marley nodded slowly. "I guess... It's just, he's the first boy to ever show me attention." The blonde boy looked to her sympathetically.

"That's not true. I know a boy who notices you," Sam murmured. Marley turned to him and narrowed her eyes the slighest. He gave a short laugh. "Never mind," he shrugged. "Marley... who told you that no one noticed you?"

"Kitty," she muttered back. Sam's frown deepened. "I-it's just, everyday, I have to put up with wh-what it says to me. It does a lot to my confidence, but I-I just can't stop it..."

Sam put a hand on her shoulder. "Marley, you can't control what people do to you, but you _can _control what you do about it."

Those words rung in her mind. She thought it over a while and let a silence fall between them. _You can't control what people do to you, but you can control what you do about it. _It was probably one of the most meaningful things she had ever heard. After a few minutes of no speaking, Marley quietly said, "Thank you, Sam."

He raised an eyebrow. "For what?" A ghost of a smile appeared on Marley's face.

"For listening," she answered softly. Marley noticed Sam's hand was still resting on hers. She looked down at it, and so did Sam. His face tinged a little bit pink, and he looked away with a bashful smile.

"You're welcome," he replied.

As Marley went throughout the rest of the day, she thought of Sam's words. His advice. Perhaps she should get over Jake. Try, at least. She attempted not to look at him, and she succeeded as best as she could. However, he still remained in her mind. His tan skin, coco eyes -

_No, _she was not allowed to think that way.

Anyway, there were so many over guys in the world. And, according to Sam, there was one guy who _really _noticed her.

She'd just have to find out who he was.


End file.
